AnthroChat's network charter/mission statement/policies Unmoderated Transmission of Data AnthroChat is founded on the principal that IRC networks are an unfiltered, non-moderated transport medium in general. As such, the operators of the network's servers are neither responsible for the content being relayed by the servers nor the actions of their users. Server operators are only responsible for maintaining continuous connectivity to the network. Mediation and moderation of content are the responsibility of those holding specific conversations and the operators of individual channels. If a server administrator also happens to be a channel operator, they shall only use commands that are available to all users on the network when moderating their channel. The rare exception is the network's help channel because it needs to remain wide open for unregistered users to be able to ask questions. Administrators are often approached by users when they deem another user as a nuisance, troublemaker, not managing a channel to the user's expectations, or someone who is posting "inappropriate content". It usually comes with an expectation that the troublemaker will have action taken toward them that is outside of the capabilities of any normal user, such as a network-wide ban. AnthroChat administrators simply will not take such actions, not out of laziness, which is often how it is perceived, but out of experience. It has been determined through years of trial and error that that approach causes more problems than it solves. This is mainly because the admins are then perceived to be the judge, jury, and police, presiding over what is considered "right and wrong" content on the network; a practice otherwise known as censorship. AnthroChat administrators do their best to be friendly and approachable, but will typically only help users to help themselves when it comes to moderation of content. Most times, admins will suggest simply ignoring troublemakers, either technically, with /ignore, or mentally. For more persistent nuisances, more detailed technical tools will be outlined and suggested. That being said, AnthroChat's administration does recognize that some of the facilities provided do not create a "perfect" method for self-moderation. Actions made by users that may be considered excessive or abusive are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If an administrator determines that behavior is excessive, limitations may be imposed upon some facilities provided to the user by AnthroChat, but the default action is typically to try to resolve issues using the facilities available to everyone. The general guideline for administrators is to not use privileged commands or functions to manage user behavior when there are effective unprivileged methods to use. Admins performing occasional /kills, global messages, force-joining, channel mode/topic changes, botserv say/act tomfoolery, or other non-permanent, easily-reversed-by-a-user privileged actions - typically in the name of fun and "this Internet is not serious business" - is rare but not unheard of. Re-arranging ChanServ access lists, banning real users from the entire network, using administrator status as an intimidation method for "winning" arguments, and forbidding nicknames, channel names, vanity hostmasks, or channel topics that "we don't like" are examples of what AnthroChat administration considers to be "excessive and unnecessary administrative involvement". These things should never happen on AnthroChat. Openness in Regards to Network Operations AnthroChat administration is open to suggestions from users in regards to features, operation, and policies of the network. If anyone has a suggestion, they are encouraged to post it to our admin mailing list by following the "Contact us" link on the web site. All suggestions will be considered, and those which are deemed practical, useful, and doable will be put on our todo list. When it comes down to it, administrators are people, too, and are not infallable. If a user has a concern about the bahavior of an admin, they are encouraged to speak their mind and challenge any decisions or actions made by an admin. If the argument appeals to logic and reason, administrative decisions or actions may be reversed. AnthroChat administrators will do their best to make available any details of discussions of network operations and proposed updates or changes to features, operation, and policies. If a user approaches an admin with questions regarding current events, the administrators shall provide as detailed a response as the user is seeking. In other words, we will make every attempt to be honest, up front, and non-withholding of information when it comes to current network-related discussions. Discussions held on the administrator mailing list which deal with such operational procedures will be made publicly available if requested. Reliable Connectivity All of AnthroChat's servers are required to be hosted in commercial Internet hosting facilities with redundant power and connectivity. This requirement is made in attempt to provide extra reliability. It is not made because of bandwidth usage. IRC is typically very low bandwidth, but everyone is painfully aware when there is a netsplit. It is our hope that having these redundancy requirements will minimize the frequency or duration of splits. Being a fact of life for IRC networks, in general, netsplits shall happen. When they do, and an admin is either directly responsible for causing it, or they are aware of why it happened, as a courtesy to our users, a quick global message will be sent to alert the users as to the cause. Open Nickname and Channel Registration AnthroChat's registration services system is completely open and accepting nickname and channel registrations without the need of administrator intervention. There is no approval process for registering a channel and registrations are completed immediately upon issuing the Chanserv register command. We do ask that our users be reasonable with the number of channels and nicknames of which any particular person is a founder, though, because nobody likes an IRC cybersquatter. If a user determines that a channel is managed in a way in which they do not agree, that user is free to create their own channel, invite other, like-minded individuals, and manage it as they see fit. Vanity Hostmasks The IRC services package that is being used on AnthroChat allows for users to have their own, custom cloaked hostmask. As a courtesy to our users, AnthroChat administrators will assign a custom hostmask to anyone who requests one. With only a few security-related exceptions, vanity hostmasks can be set to be anything that the user requests, but shall only be set, at most, once per month per user. Requests for hostmasks from newly-registered nicknames will be put on hold until the nickname has been registered for 30 days or more. HostServ has been fitted with a "request" command to streamline this process. Bots AnthroChat administration believes that the registration services bots are more than adequate aides for channel management but understands that they do not always cover every desired feature. The general policy on user- managed bots is: If AnthroChat administration is not made aware of any legitimate complaint about them, there is no problem with running them. Concerns are addressed on a case-by-case basis and if a bot is determined to facilitate excess/abuse, the administration may attempt to have it removed. AnthroChat is for people, first and foremost, not automated processes. If an automated process is determined to be negatively affecting users, we ask that it be disabled. Abuse The use of AnthroChat's facilities may be considered by the administration to be excessive and/or abusive in such cases as: * Channel registrations that are determined by administrators to obviously be for little or no reason other than to prevent others from registering them; also known as cybersquatting. * Multiple nickname registrations from the same person or affiliated group of people, for the purpose of facilitating ban evasion or cybersquatting nicknames. * Multiple, non-grouped nicknames registered by the same person for the purpose of having multiple vanity hostmasks that facilitate ban evasion. * Vanity hostmasks being used to impersonate other users. * Multiple simultaneous connections to Anthrochat from a single person to facilitate ban evasion or flooding. The default session limit of 6 connections per IP address is there as a courtesy to provide single IP households with the ability for multiple household members to connect to Anthrochat. There should never be a legitimate "need" for a single person to maintain more than one active connection to Anthrochat. * Systematic entry to existing channels to advertise or relay identical or similar messages to each (spamming). * Connection to AnthroChat via proxy or anonymizing services, such as Tor, to facilitate ban evasion or flooding. In these cases, administrative action may be carried out in order to put limits on or reverse the excess/abuse. It also may be possible, even in cases that could be interpreted as described, administrative action would not be taken. In the vast majority of cases, AnthroChat administrators' default action is to simply suggest work-arounds that are available to everyone. AnthroChat's facilities are provided as a courtesy and a privilege, not a right. There are no warranties, expressed or implied. This mission statement is merely a draft and may be subject to change.